For Maria
by metalguru
Summary: After Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Battle, Shadow tries to find his place in the world. But his past will never die, and he will find himself pushed to the brink of insanity and beyond by a dead man's vendetta.
1. Prelude

The origin of the chaos orbs and the work of Dr. Gerald Robotnik

The chaos orbs are wrapped in more mystery and intrigue than even the chaos emeralds. Things of legends, it is said they were placed upon Earth during the days of creation by a demon seeking to up heave the gods.

But then, in an expedition from Station Square, a group of explorers found five of the legendary chaos orbs. One of these explorers was one Gerald Robotnik. He convinced the Station Square government to allow him to work on three orbs, in exchange for making two of the orbs into weapons, Dr. Gerald would be allowed to do with the third one as he pleased.

For fifty years, the doctor labored and researched, trying to create his ultimate dream; the perfect being. He learned how to inject chaos power into the orbs, to give them the ability to control the whole of chaos. He learned how to synch the three orbs together, so that when combined they would have total control over chaos. He found that the lowly mobian hedgehog was the only creature capable of harnessing this godly power. He was soon to be granted access with several colleagues the massive lab known as the ark. After fifty long years, his dream was about to come true.

But, at his moment of triumph, Dr. Gerald fell into depression. His dedication to his work had forced him to forsake his family and friends. He was about to complete his dream, but the loneliness still tugged at his inner psyche. Though he had the plans for the two weapons in place, he had no idea of what to do with the third. The gift that Station Square had given to him, and he had no purpose for it. Everyday, he had tortured living things, studying them to create his work. He was disgusted with himself and his work. Then, one day, the Station Square police came to his door.

Apparently, Gerald's son had died in an accident. He had been a single parent, with his wife passing away during childbirth. The officer was holding a young girl by the hand. The girl was Gerald's granddaughter, Maria. And Gerald was now the legal guardian.

Now, Gerald couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about Maria that made her absolutely beautiful. She was a delight to have around, and she lit up his life for the first time in years. For a few months, Gerald stopped his work and dedicated much of time to his granddaughter. They were both very happy.

Then, Gerald was given some bad news. Maria had a debilitating disease. Gerald was shattered. Crying alone in his study, he felt horrible that the one beautiful thing that gave him joy in his life was being taken away. Then, he had a vision. The third chaos orb. The third specimen. He could create a specimen with a perfect body, one that resisted all types of illnesses and diseases. From this body, he could cure his granddaughter.

This was it. The muse he had waited for. On this day, in Gerald's mind, Project Shadow was born.


	2. The Intruder

"The ARK is falling! The Ark is falling!" Like a falling comet signifying the fall of a king, the falling of the ARK was the last will of a man overcome by vengeance. As the biolizard became one with the massive space station, the citizens of Station Square suddenly became Ground Zero for the incoming celestial lab.

And then, a miracle happened. Two bright lights flashed in the sky, visible to the naked eye, but clearly not part of the ARK. They flew around the ARK, crashing into the biolizard, fighting hard to save the city below. Because these weren't just two lights in the sky.

They were Sonic and Shadow, two hedgehogs blessed with powers far beyond their control. Once enemies, they now fought to stop the massive biolizard and save the people of Earth.

With mere seconds left, there was only one thing left to do.

"Ready, Shadow?"

"Ready, Sonic."

_Can you feel alive, moving through your vibe,_

_ooo, looks like you came back for more!_

_Yeah!"_

In their super forms, the two hedgehogs pointed at the ARK with all their power.

"Chaos..."

"Control!"

_When you can't help but swallow,_

_and put you right back where you came!"_

The massive blast rocked the ARK to its core, sending it back into orbit and stopping its descent towards Earth.

"_Live and learn,_

_hanging on the edge of tomorrow"_

Physically exhausted from his ordeal, Shadow, having used all his power in the mighty shot, now floated towards Earth.

"Was this what you wanted? Did I fulfill my promise, Maria?"

"_Live and learn,_

_you may never find a way!."_

Slowly, like a child being carried in his mother's arms, Shadow floated towards Earth, lost in his thoughts, until the atmosphere began to burn around him. He had won. He had brought happiness to the people of Earth. Closing his eyes, he let the heat and fire engulf his darkened soul.

* * *

On top of a mighty mountain in Red Canyon, a figure stands alone. Far away, the people of Station Square are celebrating their new lease on life, given to them by their hero, Sonic the hedgehog. But here, atop a dusty, wind-swept peak, this sole creature stands staring into the sky, waiting for the moment when his vigil would be rewarded. He wears a cloak to cover his body, and a metal mask to cover his face. The eyes of the mask glow a dark red. His spines, black as night, jut out from the rest of his body.

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight."

Suddenly, a large shooting star appeared in the twilight sky.

"I knew that would bring you."

In a flash, he jumped forward and disappeared.

* * *

**One year later**

Deep inside the cavernous outcroppings of Red Canyon, there sits a small base nestled within two crags. Lit by only a few fluorescent lights, it was hidden from any nosy enough to fly over it, and was built so that any intruder on the ground wouldn't get anywhere near the base without regretting it. A half-mile down the road, a broken sign jutted out amidst barbed wire and revealed affiliation of the base; 'WARNING, GUN property, keep out, all trespassers will be subject to extreme prejudice'. This was GUN's secret Broken Spire base.

The base was built deep into the mountain. Inside there were armories, barracks, hangers; it had everything necessary to properly defend the prizes hidden within the various labs. In these rooms, scientists worked around the clock on new weaponry, bioengineering, and many other wonders of technology.

Of course, being a GUN base, one would think all this technology was being designed to hold off the forces of Eggman. But, inside one of the larger hangers, a deal was going down that threw that conclusion to the wind.

Inside one of the larger hangers, several GUN soldiers watched as some Eggman robots hauled in two large metal containers. They positioned them in the center of the floor and then headed back to their transports. One of the robots walked towards the group of soldiers. One of the soldiers stepped out; obviously, he was their leader.

"Is this the cargo?"

"Yes. Complements of the Eggman Empire." The robot's voice was mono-tone and choppy.

"It better be everything."

The robot pointed at one of the metal boxes and it opened with a hiss. Looking inside, the soldiers saw a load of familiar-looking robots, each with jagged metal spines, exhaust jets in their mid-sections, and blasters on their arms.

The robot spoke again. "As was our deal. Twenty-five next generation anti-personnel metallix."

The head soldier took a close look at the robots. "And they're all like the one who impersonated Eggman?"

"That is inconsequential. You will pay us the amount requested, is this correct?"

"Impatient little bugger, aren't you?"

"Second request: you will pay us the amount requested, is this correct?"

"Of course. This gift from Eggman will greatly help our military affairs. But, it would be best if we kept this extremely secret. My government would not take this well." Behind them, as human workers closed the large metal boxes, a hint of the brand-new metal robots shined momentarily, before the doors were shut to ready the boxes for transportation.

"Eggman wishes GUN well. He hopes that someday he will be able to work with GUN when they are the new masters of Station Square."

"Good. But tell Eggman to keep it on the down low. Here." He handed the robot a briefcase. The robot opens it, checks the money inside, and closes it.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

* * *

In the control room of the base, two robots poured over radar, weapons systems and guidance capabilities. These two were modified Eggman robots; they had been refitted and reprogrammed to serve their GUN masters as computer controllers and info coordinators for the base.

One of the two, labeled E-103, was scanning over ground vibrations below the canyon. A string of earthquakes lately had caused significant structural damage, and the robot was checking to see if a pattern was emerging.

_Beep._

The robot looked up towards the radar screen. A blip had appeared several miles out. It hadn't been there a second before, and right now it wasn't moving. The robot tried to gain a satellite photograph of the object, but the next satellite wouldn't fly over for another minute.

Suddenly, the object began to move. It picked up speed, starting at the rate of a running human, then accelerating to that of a car, and finally leveled out at a speed equal to a fighter jet. However, whatever it was couldn't have been a jet, since it was only three feet above the ground. The robot reached over and punched the red alert button.

* * *

The screech of alarms shattered the silence of the night around the base.

"What's going on? Did Eggman double-cross us?"

A robotic voice came over the loudspeaker. "We have incoming unidentified object approaching at high velocity, possibly hostile. All personnel prepare for interception!"

"Pack this stuff up and get it out of here! All we need is someone busting in here and finding these robots!" The workers quickly loaded the boxes onto trucks and hauled them out the back entrance, towards the nearby desert.

The head soldier watched the trucks leave when his walkie-talkie sprang to life.

"Johnson, have those trucks left yet?"

"Yes sir, captain! They're on their way to Echo base."

In the command center, the Captain was trying to make sense of the situation. The incoming object moved as fast as a missile, but was almost touching the ground.

The two robots were monitoring the object as it came ever closer to the base.

"Object is seven miles out and closing. At current velocity, it will be visible in fourty-five seconds."

"Five miles." The captain started to sweat.

"Three miles." Outside, the soldiers at the forward intercept post readied their weapons and pointed it at the horizon. Whatever was coming would hit them at full speed.

"Two..." The incoming siren, a shrill beeping, had now stopped beeping and was just one sound.

"One!"

Suddenly, the beeping stopped. The dot disappeared off the radar.

"Sir, object has disappeared from radar."

"What are you talking about, number 1? Where did it go?"

"Sir, no trace of the object can be found. I repeat, it has disappeared."

The captain was losing his mind. "Forward station, do you have visual?"

"No, sir," was the response, "we've got nothing in front of us."

"What the heck was that?"

* * *

In the armory, a lone chief sits reading a magazine. Since everyone else was on general alert and had already come through, he knew he had some time to kill before they would go off alert and everyone would come back, so he had decided to catch up on his reading.

_Clunk!_

Something fell off the nearby shelves. Grumbling, the chief wandered over to figure out what had fallen.

As he turned the corner, he caught a black cape moving around the other side of the weapons racks. Whoever it was disappeared quickly. The chief grabbed a nearby pistol and pointed it down the row.

"Whoever that is, come out now!"

No response.

Angry, the chief went down another row to try and cut this intruder off. He had his back to the wall and his pistol raised.

"Freeze!" He turned the corner and aimed his pistol.

The intruder turned almost as quickly. Whatever it was, it wasn't human. _A furry?_ The intruder was about four feet tall, and was wearing a black cape and a metal mask. Black spines shot out the back. But it was his eyes that caught the chief's attention. They glowed blood red.

"AHHH!" Rather than trying to figure out what the heck the intruder was, the chief shot first and decided to ask questions later.

Somehow, every bullet missed. Some that were dead on seemingly dodged the intruder in mid-air. The chief, running out of bullets, was stunned.

However, he didn't have time to think, as the intruder flicked his wrist and pointed it at the chief. A huge flash emitted from the intruder's hand and blew the chief away.

* * *

The entire base rocked with an explosion. It was felt all the way in the command center.

"The heck was that?"

"Massive explosion in the armory. Estimate no survivors. Cameras have caught some images."

"On screen, number 1."

Video monitors shot to life, showing glimpses of the intruder. The black cape, black spines, every angle was caughtexcept the one most necessary: the front. They had no clear picture of just who this intruder was. What he wanted was even more puzzling to the captain.

"Where is he now?"

"Motion sensors have detected movement in the computer labs!"

The Captain got on his mike immediately. "All personnel! The intruder is in the computer labs! I want teams down there now!"

* * *

"This is the last one, Sergeant."

"Everybody get ready. This has to be the one."

The Sergeant swiped his key-card through the ID slot and the door slid opened. The assault team quickly moved into the computer terminal. Inside, everything was quiet. They quickly cleared this room and headed for the back. As they came to the rear of the terminal, a voice quickly came into hearing.

"No, please, I don't have the passcodes!"

As the team turned the corner, they saw Dr. Taylor, one of the oldest members of the research teams, on the ground stretching out his arms and begging the intruder to spare him. The intruder had one arm stretched out in front of him, palm facing the good doctor.

"Stay away from him!" Christine Taylor, the doctor's granddaughter and also a member of the research team, through a chair at the intruder.

Quickly moving his arm out and pointing it at the chair, he caught it mid-air with some invisible force. Then, as if by some unseen force, he swung his arm, sending the female doctor flying.

"Ma'am!" The sergeant ran forward and caught the Ms. Taylor with his own body.

The intruder turned his attention back to the doctor, but the doctor turned from begging for mercy to utter contempt for his attacker.

"You'll get nothing from me," he growled, "you and your secret must remain buried, for the sake of humanity!"

"Freeze!"

The intruder looked over at the assault team, all of whom now had their guns pointed directly at him.

"You idiots, kill him!"

The assault team opened fire, but, to their horror, none of their bullets even touched the intruder as he calmly walked towards them. They all emptied their clips, yet they hit nothing but the machinery behind the intruder. Once the bullets stopped firing and the intruder continued to advance, the assault team's nerve broke, and they started to pull back.

Suddenly, a red alarm activated above them. The intruder stopped to take in this new alarm.

"Self-destruct sequence activated. All personnel evacuate immediately!"

The intruder looked behind him to see that Dr. Taylor had hit the automatic self-destruct button on the lab.

"You will never find him, and there is nothing you can do to change that. I will not let our past sins come back to haunt this generation. I hope you rot!" Even in his final moments, the doctor was indignant.

The sergeant grabbed Ms. Taylor's hand and dragged her towards the escape pod.

"Wait! We have to go back for grandfather!"

"There's no time! We have to leave him!"

He pushed her into the waiting escape pod where the rest of the assault team was already waiting. They all locked into their seats and the sergeant hit a large red button on the wall, locking the pod. The escape chute then dropped the pod down a large tube, ending at an opening in the caverns below, where after a short fall they ended up in the river whose current would take them out the caverns to safety.

Above them, the base went through its death throes. The intruder struggled with the computer, but, as the base reached its end, he sighed in defeat and disappeared into thin air.

Out on the canyon floor, night became day as a massive ball of white light shot out from the rocks, vaporizing a wide radius and leaving a smoking crater where had once been a mighty base.

* * *

Many miles away, in another secret base, two figures watched the end of Broken Spire base from another command center. One was a woman, dressed in business clothes and holding a stack of papers and a PDA. The other was a man, middle-aged, heavily muscled, and with a slight black beard, he was dressed in military fatigues and was sitting in a chair central to the command center, his chin resting on his cupped hands.

After a period of silence, the man spoke up.

"Was it Project Shadow?"

"All of our data was inconclusive." The badly-taken camera shots of the intruder appeared on the viewer screens in front of them. "But it was a black hedgehog."

The man took a deep breath and slowly blew it out his nose, making a _hissing_ noise.

"Send out the hunters."

"Yes sir."

Deep below the command center, the order was relayed to one of the many labs. In a cryo-lab several floors down, a scientist gave commands to a computer.

Four small tubes came down from the ceiling, frost and ice chipping off the sides.

_Reheating sequence initiated_.

Inside each tube, the silhouettes of four black hedgehogs contrasted deeply to the blue ice around them.


	3. Return to Prison Island

On Prison Island, right outside of Station Square, there sat another lab, this one far away from the recently destroyed Broken Spire base. It hadn't been used in years. The last activity that had occurred in it was when Eggman had released Project Shadow from his stasis. Since then, it had once again been sealed up by the military. They concluded that there was nothing of value inside, and so had left it as is.

The top floor of the lab was pitch black. Not a single ounce of light shown inside.

Suddenly, a hole opened up overhead, causing a beam of light to shoot through the darkness, giving some illumination to the various debris and machinery parts strewn about. The light was blocked for a second before returning to normal.

A lone figure quickly fell through the air and landed on the floor, stretching his arms in every direction, searching for anything that may have threatened him. Recognizing that the room was empty, he lowered his arms and stood up straight.

He was a black hedgehog, standing about three and a half feet, with a large amount of spines on his back. He had rings around his wrists, and specially made shoes that allowed him to glide over land at high speeds, and even fly with jet boosters underneath.

His name was Shadow the Hedgehog. One year ago, he or someone like him destroyed the bio-lizard and saved Station Square. He disappeared that day, but three months ago Rouge the Bat had found him in a stasis tube inside Eggman's base, guarded by Omega the robot. Since then, he had grappled with his own existence.

Shadow looked up to see two figures floating down towards him. One had a pair of wings on her back, the other a jetpack built into his stomach. Landing next to him was Rouge the Bat and the Metal Sonic.

Rouge the Bat was a jewel thief whose skills were unmatched. She used her feminine charms and dark powers to swindle, sneak, and otherwise snatch the most precious jewels out from under their owners' noses. One year ago, Shadow had saved her from a bomb planted by Eggman. When he disappeared, Rouge was saddened by his supposed loss. When she found this Shadow, he had saved her once again from Omega, who had mistakenly labeled Shadow as an enemy. Putting a stop to the two before they destroyed each other, she had been the one to suggest that they become a team and hunt down Eggman and discover the secret to Shadow's return.

When Team Dark went out to find Eggman, they discovered that Eggman wasn't the one pulling the strings. He had been imprisoned by the Metal Sonic, the same robotic creation that had kidnapped Amy and raced Sonic on the Little Planet. Though they had thought him destroyed, he returned, bigger and badder than before, and took over Eggman's fleet. By absorbing Eggman's machines, he transformed himself into the Metal Overlord, a gigantic dragon with enormous power. Only with the help of his friends and the power of the chaos emeralds did Sonic defeat Metal Overlord.

Since his fall, Metal Sonic had joined Team Dark as a member. He can transform into his Mk.2 form at will, but it is uncertain whether he can ever become the Metal Overlord again.

Rouge walked up to Shadow. She was wearing her Team Dark outfit, a purple and pink ensemble that revealed less skin than her regular clothes.

"Was that truly necessary?" Shadow said, suggesting that his entrance had been a little too flagrant.

Rouge smiled. "No, but it was more fun!" She stuck out her tongue at him.

Shadow sighed. "Yo, Metal, is your connection to Omega working?"

Metal Sonic tapped at his head. "Opening connection. I am now connected to Omega."

"Omega."

"Yes, Shadow?" Omega's voice came over the radio.

"Do you sense anything down here?"

Omega, up on the surface with a rope, just in case he needed to pull them out, went through a seismic chart of the lab in his mind.

"I am reading large amounts of debris throughout the lab. Wait." Two sources of energy registered on his radar. "I detect a heat signature in the main lab straight ahead of you, and beyond that, a small hint of electrical output in a much smaller lab."

"A heat source?" Rouge said. "You mean a living being?"

Omega checked his sensors. "Yes. It is possible, but you will have to confirm. Go straight ahead."

Shadow quickly started down towards the hallway.

"Hey, wait up!" Rouge shouted.

She ran up next to him. "What's the rush, Shadow?"

Shadow stopped and looked straight ahead. He then turned his gaze to Rouge.

"I've got a strange feeling that's been going through my head for a couple days now. It seems to be guiding me to whatever is at the end of this hallway."

"Seriously?"

Shadow looked back down the hallway. "Seriously. Be ready for anything."

Shadow, Rouge, and Metal moved slowly into the dark hallway. Walking for a few minutes, they were in pitch black darkness and had to use their hands to guide them. Shadow used the time to reflect on the last week.

About a week ago, he had started to have nightmares. Nightmares about the ARK, about Maria, about other things he could have never known about, like what had happened to Gerald after Shadow had been ejected from the ARK. If he wasn't the real Shadow, how could he have known these things? The answer seemed to be calling him from Prison Island. He had convinced Rouge and the rest of Team Dark to come along with him, to search for answers. The way things were going, it seemed like he would find some.

Rouge, who was leading them, suddenly stumbled forward when her hand ran out of wall. Shadow grabbed her before she could fall over and helped her balance.

"Thanks, Shadow," she whispered.

_PHOOM!_ The lights in the room flipped on, blinding the two furries.

Metal immediately began registering the room. "One figure inside, species: hedgehog, high power source detected, extreme caution recommended!"

Shadow's vision returned to him. Standing in front of him was indeed another hedgehog. This hedgehog wore a black leather cape. He spun around.

Shadow found himself looking into two blood red eyes seemingly burned into a solid black mask. The cape swirled around the figure, revealing a scarred body beneath. The figure looked straight at him.

"Shadow? How did you…?" He had a deep and strangely sweet voice.

Shadow was taken aback. "Do I know you?"

The figure stared at him. Then he noticed Rouge and Metal behind Shadow. The figure chuckled. "Ah, I see. You're the one we've been looking for."

Now Shadow was really surprised. "You've been looking for me? Why? Who are you? Whose looking for me?"

"Who I am doesn't matter," the figure said, raising his arm and pointing his palm at Shadow, "because you're no good to me alive."

A bolt of power shot out of his palm and straight through Shadow's body. He flew back and landed flat on the floor.

"Shadow!" Rouge ran to him.

Metal transformed into his Mk.2 form and flew at the attacker, blasters blazing.

Rouge checked Shadow over. He was still alive and breathing, but he now had a hole through his chest. Metal and the attacker's blasts were firing all over the place. Rouge grabbed Shadow and dragged him into another hallway. His eyes were glazed over and his breathing was labored.

"Shadow?!? Shadow! Please, don't leave me! I never got to tell you…"

_Shadow._ A deep voice spoke inside of his head. _This way._ The voice seemed to come from a hall-way to the right.

Shadow came out of his daze. He looked at Rouge.

"Did you just hear that?"

Rouge looked him in confusion. "Hear what?"

Shadow pointed to their right. "Take me this way."

"Why?"

Shadow shrugged. "I have a feeling. C'mon."

They ran down the dark hallway towards a light beyond a door at the end. Reaching the door, Rouge pushed it open, the light blinding them for a second.

Inside was another lab. This lab was small, about the size of an office, with two tubes in the center, one empty.

The other contained a creature that shocked Shadow straight to the core: inside the other tube was another Shadow.

However, this Shadow was in pretty bad shape. His right arm and legs were missing, and his body and head were covered with scars. The tube was filled with some sort of green gel. A heart-monitor beeped nearby while a ventilator breathed for the Shadow, shooting out bubbles into the gel with every breath.

Shadow couldn't believe it. "Another clone?"

_Maybe_. The voice returned.

Shadow looked at the other Shadow in the tube. "Are you the one talking in my head?"

_Yes._

Rouge looked at Shadow. He was speaking with the other Shadow in his mind, but whatever they were saying, she couldn't hear. Then she noticed something on the tube Shadow's left arm.

He had a golden ring wrapped around his wrist.

"No way!" Rouge carried Shadow up to the tube to get a closer look. Looking closely at the ring, she compared it to her own. It was an exact match.

"This, this-it's, it…" Rouge was speechless. Her hero, the one who had saved her one year ago, the true Shadow. Was this him?

Shadow saw the match as well. However, in his current condition, seeing this revelation only filled him with gloom at the fact that he had known he was not the real Shadow. Raising his eyes to the tube, he asked the penultimate question.

"Are you the real Shadow?"

However, the answer he got back wasn't the one he expected.

_Are you?_

Shadow was confused. "I don't know. I don't think so."

_Then how can you know? Have you ever met the real Shadow?_

"No."

_Maybe the real Shadow is me, maybe it's you. Maybe he is somewhere else in this world. Maybe he passed on to the next. How do we define the 'real' Shadow? _

Shadow thought for a moment. "The one who came first."

_Then it is impossible to know who the real Shadow is._

"Why?"

_Because there are many more of us, and more being created every day. _

"How do you know this? Who are you?"

_Some would call me the original Shadow, as I was the first to appear in the public's eye. I am the Shadow who fought the bio-lizard one year ago. In that battle, I used all my power to stop the ARK and save Station Square from destruction. After the battle, I had lost so much of my power that I could not save myself from falling into the atmosphere. I fell and fell, and my power was reduced to what I am today. _

"How did you survive?"

_I don't know. When I awoke, I was in this tube. However, I quickly discovered that my powers, while I still had the capacity to use them, I did not have the strength. Therefore, I channeled them into other sources, and used them to expand my consciousness. It was at that time that I heard the minds of the others._

"And who are they?"

_Despite what Station Square wants you to believe, Project Shadow never ended. It is still continuing, and more of us are being manufactured every day. Soon, entire armies of our brethren will march upon this world, and no one will be able to stop it._

Shadow remembered the other hedgehog in the lab. He shivered to think of an army filled with clones like him. "We were just attacked by another hedgehog. He had enormous power, even more than me. Is he one of the clones?"

_Ah, so you met Eclipse. No, he is something more. He is one of the originals. _

"The originals?"

_You didn't think you could just build an army of clones from nothing, did you? He is one of the original creations of Dr. Gerald, a living weapon built for destruction and mayhem. He was originally supposed to be a GUN operative. However, he disobeyed his masters and ran away._

"Why? Why did he run?"

_Like you and I, he is a tortured and confused soul searching for answers. The answers he seeks are long and complicated, and if I explained them now, you would be overwhelmed. I think it is best for you to find out on your own. _

Shadow groaned. "That's great, except I'm probably not going to make it out of here." He held his still bleeding chest. Somehow, the chaos power from the shot was hindering his natural healing abilities. He needed medical attention, because without his abilities he was a goner.

Rouge, who had been watching the two Shadows, now looked at her fellow member of Team Dark with a shocked expression.

"Don't say that Shadow! We'll get you out of here and get you some help!"

"Phfft," Shadow grunted. "Who's going to help me? You know how the humans feel about me, and there's not a furry-friendly city for the next hundred miles!"

_Perhaps I can help._

"How?"

_The tube next to me is empty. If you enter it, it will combine my psychological state with your physical being. In layman's terms, we will become one Shadow. You will gain all of my powers, and I will have a body to complete some… unfinished business. _

Shadow felt a familiar emotion touch him. It was warm and tender.

"Alright," Shadow struggled to stand, "Rouge, get me to that tube."

"Shadow." As Shadow weakly lifted himself up, Rouge could only look on him with pity.

Rouge placed Shadow gingerly in the tube.

_Now push the red button next to you._

Shadow looked at the button in the tube. Then he turned towards Rouge.

She looked him in the eyes. Then, she leaned close and gave him a kiss. Shadow's eyes opened in surprise.

She pulled back and stepped away from the tube. "Just for luck." She gave him that silly grin again.

Shadow smiled. He then turned and pushed the button.

The room went dark for a moment. Then both tubes flashed like lighting. The room went dark again, then slowly lit up as the tubes illuminated. They started with a dull green light which grew into a bright green. The bubbles in the green gel around the imprisoned Shadow shot up like boiling water. Finally, a white flash erupted again, and everything went dark. The lights came on again.

Rouge looked at the tubes. The tube that had held the beaten and scarred Shadow was now empty. The one that had held the mortally wounded Shadow was now filled with a gray steam.

A foot stepped out from the cloud, followed by an arm, then a body, and finally, a head.

Shadow the hedgehog stepped out into the lab, and Rouge was awed by his new appearance. His fur seemed darker, sleeker, his spines sharper. Electricity seemed to crackle around his body, his power increased to new heights. His body was completely healed, flawless, and he stood with a poise that screamed utter confidence in his abilities.

"Shadow," Rouge asked, "is it you?"

Shadow nodded his head. "It's me. Project Shadow is reborn!"


	4. Enter Eclipse!

Shadow and Rouge ran back into the main lab. When they reached the lighted area, they were shocked by the sight in front of them.

"Metal!" Rouge shouted.

The other black hedgehog, which the other Shadow had called Eclipse, was holding the torn and smashed remains of the Metal Sonic. His head whirred and clicked, but there was no sign that he was able to struggle anymore.

Eclipse tossed the Metal Sonic aside. He once again focused his gaze on Shadow.

_I see. So you combined with him. I really didn't have to do anything at all. _Eclipse's voice popped into Shadow's head.

Shadow was confused. "How did you know that? How can I hear you now?"

_Because we combined, he is connected to us now._ The other Shadow's voice now spoke in Shadow's head.

"Huh?!?" Shadow was supremely confused now.

_I'll explain later. Now fight!_

Eclipse charged at Shadow. Shadow jumped into the air. He was surprised at his own strength, since his leap was at least over fifteen feet now. He flipped over twice in the air, landing ready for the next attack. Eclipse slid to a stop, and then straightened up, back turned to Shadow.

"I see your skills have improved." he spoke. "It's exactly what I was hoping for. Now," his eyes suddenly blazed, "let's see what you're truly capable of."

He turned and fired a huge bolt of energy, aimed directly at Shadow. Shadow somehow blinked out of existence, completely avoiding the bolt.

Shadow reappeared above Eclipse, and smashed his fist into the mighty hedgehog's mask. A large white scratch bisected the mask. Eclipse's head jerked back in pain. Shadow threw more punches, but Eclipse diligently avoided each blow. Reaching the wall, Shadow put all of his power behind one punch, but Eclipse blinked behind Shadow and Shadow ended up smashing the wall. The blow blew a massive hole in the wall and created a shockwave that blew all the way out of the base to daylight.

Eclipse backhanded Shadow, sending him flying across the lab. Shadow rolled across the floor, managing to catch himself on the first bounce and slide to a stop.

_Shadow! Focus your chaos energy in your fist!_

Shadow didn't quite understand what the voice meant, but he did remember how to chaos control. He took what he knew and focused that energy into his closed fist. It seemed to glow white with power.

Eclipse flew straight at Shadow and threw a massive punch. Shadow met the punch head on with his own punch. The air crackled with electricity, and both combatants glowed white. A shockwave shot out, and Shadow was blown backwards into the wall. He hit it hard, breaking the wall in two.

Shadow struggled to get up. Eclipse rubbed his mask.

"Amazing. In such a short time you've already been able to tap into the chaos orb. I didn't think it would be possible for two clones to gain so much power by combining."

Shadow grunted. "I…AM…NOT…A CLONE!" He fired a bolt at Eclipse. Eclipse blocked it easily with a shield, but when the smoke cleared from the shot, Shadow was gone.

Eclipse looked around the lab. He realized that Shadow had taken Rouge and Metal and gone out the hole that Shadow's punch had created.

Eclipse looked out the hole at the daylight.

"Amazing. Truly amazing. It's like they were destined to combine."

_Everything is falling into place._ A voice entered Eclipse's head. Unlike the Shadows, this voice was cold and sinister. _I can sense the others moving to intercept Shadow. Now that they are free, it's only a matter of time before they discover the truth and return to us. All that remains to be done is to free me. _

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it."

_Don't forget why we're doing this. Without me, you will remain a slave forever._

"Don't remind me. I hate you for forcing me into this." He blinked out of the lab.

* * *

End Chapter

A/N Short chapter, but like I said, sporadic updates on this fic. A few quick details: this fic is Shadow/Rouge, it's segasonic universe, and, yes, Sonic will show up later on.


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